Maryland

Maryland judge allows early mail-vote counting to avoid result delays

Published

2 years ago

September 23, 2022

Maryland judge allows early mail-vote counting to avoid result delays

Maryland election officers can start counting mail-in ballots earlier than Election Day below a decide’s ruling on Friday that suspends a state legislation ballot staff feared may delay outcomes by weeks or months.

The ruling on the petition — which attorneys for Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox argued towards in court docket — comes after a major cycle marked by an unprecedented variety of mail-in ballots, quick staffing and prolonged delays.

Anticipating a fair increased quantity of mail-in ballots within the basic election, the Maryland State Board of Elections requested the court docket for an emergency treatment to ship well timed outcomes and meet native, state and federal certification deadlines. The delays, its lawyer famous, could be unavoidable in any other case, as a shift in voting tendencies continues to bump up towards Maryland’s legislation prohibiting tabulation till two days after the final election. Canvassing greater than 340,000 mail-in ballots forged throughout the major resulted in an almost month-long delay.

“There isn’t a doubt that the elevated variety of mail-in ballots may have an infinite have an effect on on the method of this election,” Decide James A. Bonifant mentioned in his ruling. “Necessary deadlines will probably be missed if the court docket takes no motion.”

In a press release, the board mentioned it was happy by the court docket’s determination.

“This ruling offers election officers with further time to canvass and tabulate these ballots to make sure that all essential election-related deadlines established by legislation are met,” the assertion mentioned.

The November poll will function Cox, a first-term delegate who has embraced former president Donald Trump’s rhetoric and tried to question outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan (R), and Wes Moore (D), a best-selling creator who garnered high-profile movie star and political endorsements, as gubernatorial candidates, together with any third-party contenders and a number of congressional, state and native workplaces.

Cox, who has known as the 2020 presidential election “stolen” and promised major voters he would audit the 2020 election if elected, filed an opposition to the petition, arguing that altering the method weeks earlier than the election was unconstitutional and would undermine “belief within the consequence of elections.”

Earlier this week, attorneys for Cox and the elections board made their case earlier than Bonifant, arguing the ability to intervene rested with the Common Meeting, not the court docket.

State lawmakers tried to vary the vote counting timeline throughout this yr’s legislative session after they handed a invoice that may have completely eliminated the availability prohibiting the early canvassing of mail-in ballots — the one certainly one of its variety within the nation. Whereas Hogan supported counting mail-in ballots early, he vetoed the invoice, citing different issues together with the exclusion of “primary safety measures similar to signature verification.”

Hogan mentioned in a press release that he agreed with Bonifant’s ruling.

“We welcome Decide Bonifant’s determination permitting the State Board of Elections to institute early canvassing for the final election, as I did in 2020 throughout the pandemic,” Hogan mentioned within the assertion. “It labored properly in that election, however partisan legislators dropped the ball on adopting our profitable strategy, making this step needed.”

Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery), who carried the invoice Hogan vetoed, mentioned she was thrilled and relieved by the decide’s ruling to permit early canvassing.

“He analyzed the arguments by the opponents and finally concluded that certainly it was proper for democracy, that mail-in ballots be counted in a well timed means,” Kagan mentioned at a information convention outdoors the courthouse.

Kagan mentioned she has spoken with legislative leaders about bringing again the proposal subsequent yr to make the transfer everlasting.

“This isn’t about who’s going to win or lose within the gubernatorial race or any race. It’s actually about simply ensuring that we get the leads to a well timed means,” Kagan mentioned. “If there’s a authorized problem, if there’s want for a recount, we need to make certain we’ve a lot of time earlier than the date by which individuals have to be sworn in to start out their work representing the folks.”

The longest delays on this yr’s major had been in Montgomery, Maryland’s most populous county. Officers obtained greater than 74,000 mail-in ballots throughout the major and took 36 days to utterly tabulate all ballots and conduct a recount within the Democratic major race for county government.

“Confronted with three-to-four occasions as many ballots and failing to depend a single certainly one of them till two days after the election could require 100 to 120 days (or practically 4 months),” mentioned the board’s petition, filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court docket earlier this month.

The board warned that delays within the basic election may intrude with native, state and federal consequence certification deadlines, similar to some native workplace phrases which are slated to start on the primary Monday in December, and Congress being set to convene Jan. 3.

The petition additionally acknowledged {that a} gradual course of to return outcomes may sow distrust and doubt within the state’s electoral course of.

“A chronic canvassing and tabulation interval would name into query the reliability and veracity of these processes,” the petition mentioned. “Voters could assume that errors are inflicting the delay or that extra nefarious actions may be prolonging the depend and inflicting the violations.”

Cox made an analogous argument, saying that court docket interference, which his attorneys known as “unconstitutional,” may develop distrust within the state’s election system. He advised reporters earlier this week that he would respect the end result of the election if the present course of stayed in place, however he wouldn’t say whether or not he would respect the end result if the decide sided with the elections board.

Montgomery County Board of Elections spokesman Gilberto Zelaya mentioned his workplace has been gearing as much as begin the intricate canvassing course of for the reason that major. And whereas the ruling will assist with the timeline, he inspired voters to return ballots early to take advantage of the ruling.

“This reduction received’t quantity to a lot if voters don’t return their ballots promptly,” he mentioned.

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Maryland

Sunny and much colder on Tuesday in Maryland

Published

2 hours ago

January 14, 2025

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Sunny and much colder on Tuesday in Maryland – CBS Baltimore

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Sunny and much colder on Tuesday in Maryland

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Maryland

Supreme Court declines to step into Maryland gun licensing and Hawaii climate change suits – SCOTUSblog

Published

10 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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Supreme Court declines to step into Maryland gun licensing and Hawaii climate change suits – SCOTUSblog

SCOTUS NEWS

By Amy Howe

on Jan 13, 2025
at 6:56 pm

The justices issued orders out of their private conference as scheduled on Monday morning. (Katie Barlow)

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to Maryland’s handgun licensing regime, as well as a pair of cases seeking to hold oil and gas companies responsible for damage caused by climate change. The announcement came as part of a list of orders released from the justices’ private conference on Friday. The justices granted three cases from that conference on Friday afternoon, and they did not add any additional cases to their docket for the 2024-25 term on Monday.

The justices denied review in Maryland Shall Issue v. Moore, in which gun-rights groups and gun owners challenged Maryland’s requirement that most residents obtain a license before buying a gun. They argued that because state law already requires them to undergo a background check to buy a gun, the license requirement (which includes another background check and a gun-safety course) imposes too heavy a burden on their right to bear arms.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld the law last year. It pointed to Justice Clarence Thomas’s opinion for the court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, in which he indicated that laws requiring gun owners to undergo background checks or complete gun-safety courses will generally be constitutional under that decision’s new Second Amendment test.

The justices did not act on a petition seeking review of a ruling by the same appeals court upholding Maryland’s ban on assault rifles. The court will consider the petition in Snope v. Brown again on Friday, Jan. 17.

The justices also denied review in Sunoco v. Honolulu and Shell v. Honolulu, a pair of cases seeking to hold oil and gas companies responsible for their role in increased fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, which led to climate change-related property damage in Honolulu.

In June, the justices asked the Biden administration to weigh in on whether federal law bars the oil and gas companies’ state-law claims; in a brief filed in December, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar urged the justices to deny review. Prelogar told the justices that (among other things) at this time the Supreme Court lacks the power to review the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision allowing the lawsuit to go forward.

Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in the Honolulu cases. Although he did not explain the reason for his recusal, the financial disclosure forms that Alito filed in 2023 indicated that at that time Alito owned shares in three of the energy companies involved in the cases.

The court asked the federal government for its views in four new cases:

Fiehler v. Mecklenburg, a dispute over land ownership in Alaska that hinges on whether a state court has the power to correct a federal surveyor’s location of a water boundary.
Borochov v. Iran, in which the justices have been asked to decide whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’s “terrorism exception” to the general rule of immunity for foreign governments in U.S. courts gives U.S. courts the power to hear claims that arise from a foreign state’s material support for a terrorist attack that injures or disables, but does not kill, its victims.
FS Credit Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, involving whether Section 47(b) of the Investment Company Act, which regulates investment companies like mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, creates a private right of action.
Port of Tacoma v. Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, in which the justices have been asked to decide whether a provision of the Clean Water Act allows private citizens to go to federal court to enforce state-issued pollutant-discharge permits that impose more stringent standards than the act requires.

This article was originally published at Howe on the Court.

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Maryland

Some Maryland residents urged to conserve water amid rise in breaks, leaks due to freezing temperatures

Published

17 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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Some Maryland residents urged to conserve water amid rise in breaks, leaks due to freezing temperatures

BALTIMORE — WSSC Water is urging its customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties to conserve water amid an increase in water main breaks caused by frigid temperatures.

The company shared the alert on Sunday, Jan. 12, saying there are water main breaks in locations that have not been identified yet.

According to the company, there is no boil water advisory in place and water is safe.

On Monday morning, company officials said they are responding to 63 breaks and/or leaks.

Customers are urged to preserve water by taking the following steps:

Use water only as necessary; take shorter showers and turn off faucets immediately after use
Limit flushing toilets; do not flush after every use
Limit using washing machines and dishwashers

Following the aforementioned guidance could prevent a boil water advisory as crews continue to address leaks and breaks, officials said. The company has called on additional crews and contractors to search for unreported breaks.

Any broken or leaking water mains will be shut down before repair crews are dispatched, which could create longer repair times and water outages.

WSSC Water customers are urged to call the company’s Emergency Services Center at 301-206-4002 to report any running water or chlorine odors.

Baltimore Water Main Breaks

On Sunday, Jan. 12, Baltimore City Councilmember Odette Ramos reported a water main break in North Baltimore on Linkwood Road that left an apartment complex without water.

In a social media post, Ramos said water was being delivered to Hopkins House Apartments Sunday evening as the repair may take a long time.

According to data from the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW), there were about 27 confirmed water main breaks in the city as of Monday morning. Data showed another 14 confirmed water main breaks across Baltimore County.

Freezing temperatures in Maryland

Maryland experienced freezing temperatures last week, along with a snowstorm that brought between 3 to 12 inches of snow to the region. Baltimore City saw about four inches of snow, while parts of the county saw between 3.5 to 7.5 inches, totals show.

Freezing temperatures caused dangerous conditions in the days following the heavy snowfall, and icy roads prompted school closures and delays across the state between Monday, Jan. 6, and Friday, Jan. 10.

Baltimore City issued a Code Blue Extreme Cold Alert through Saturday, Jan. 11 as wind chills dipped into the single digits for several days.

On Monday, temperatures in the Baltimore region ticked back up, though Arctic air is forecasted to return to the state by the middle of the week.

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